Palladium Books® Weekly Update – Jan. 29, 2016

By Kevin Siembieda

“Greetings, Earthlings.” I always loved it when Marvin the Martian would make his appearance and say those words in old Warner Brother cartoons. Makes me smile. Is it weird I’m opening with this? It has been a weird week.

The first half of the week I was sick. I’m still a little out of sorts, but much better overall. The rest of the week has been a frenetic blur of activity as we all press hard to finish books and move other projects along, as well as deal with a variety of business matters, running around and planning. I’m happy to say things are moving forward.

UPDATE: The Rifter® Super-Subscription Drive – a limited time offer

Subscriptions and renewals have been coming in at a steady pace. Please, keep ‘em coming. The annual Super-Subscription Drive happens only once a year and ends in a few weeks. The FREE gifts that come with this annual subscription drive are special and fun to entice people into trying The Rifter®, because we want everyone to realize the tremendous value of The Rifter®. It is a resource for new ideas, for building adventures, and a source for supplemental material that is suitable for most Palladium RPG world settings, not just the specific game line the articles may have been written for. See for yourself.

The Rifter® Super-Subscription Drive is your chance to try The Rifter® at a discounted price, get a FREE gift, save $16.00 off the retail price, and have it delivered right to your doorstep. A limited time offer. Do not miss out!

Click here to see the full description for your subscription options and choice of free gift in the Palladium Online Store.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #73 – ALL “official” source material – goes to the printer next week

Wow, this is an amazing issue. I know, because I have edited, reviewed or written most of the material in the book. Good stuff. Thought provoking and useful. We are putting the final touches on it even as you read this, and will be doing final layout over the weekend and sending it off to the printer.

The Rifter® #73 contains “official” adventure source material for Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Splicers® and Dead Reign®. There are Hidden Nexus Points, Nexus Born, the Triumvirate Dragon, Faeries, Wolfen, the Great Northern Wilderness, Splicers® with I am Legion Part Two, walking dead in the city of Detroit, and more. And it is all official.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #74 – More “official” material in the Spring issue

There is already material written and lining up for The Rifter® #74 that will also include “official” source material by Julius Rosenstein and me (Kevin Siembieda) for Rifts®, as well as official material for Splicers® and maybe Heroes Unlimited™, among others. We are on a roll. Have you ordered your subscription yet?

UPDATE: Heroes of Humanity™ Sourcebook

I have spent all of my time this week on recovering from a bug, getting The Rifter® #73 finished, and a number of other things. But when I’m done, I’m all in on Heroes of Humanity™ and The Disavowed™.

UPDATE: Robotech® RPG Tactics™

As I have stated in recent Weekly Updates on our website, Palladium Books has renewed its Robotech® game license and we intend to move Robotech® RPG Tactics™ forward in 2016 in a big way. I want to get the Wave Two Kickstarter exclusives and expansion packs into manufacturing, and ultimately into your hands, as soon as we can.

Despite the fear and apprehension of some, I want to assure you that our Kickstarter backers have never been out of our thoughts, and Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Wave Two is coming. As I have stated, for strategic and business reasons we have been unable to share with you everything Palladium has been exploring, considering and working on. As you know, one of the things we have been doing is looking into and considering possible ways to reduce part counts and make the game pieces easier to put together. As we get into actual production and manufacturing for Wave Two this year, we will share plenty with you. And we think you’ll be pleased. Considering all the delays and frustration of the past, we do not want to even speculate on release dates and other details until we have hard, solid information we are confident with ourselves.

In the Spring we expect to be able to share with you much more details, information, progress reports and offer up new material on a regular basis. We’ll have some new data and material sooner, but I don’t think things will really begin to heat up before Spring or Summer. We want Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Wave Two and fulfillment of our Kickstarter obligations more than anyone. It’s coming.

Oh, and when we talk about the relaunch of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ we mean a renewed market push of the core game, regular product releases and game support, like RRT rules clarifications and elaboration, rules additions, advanced rules, demos, convention support, gaming events and promotions, adventures, PDF and physical releases, and more.

We are also floating ideas for a number of new Robotech® RPG sourcebooks for various Robotech® generations, which will ultimately result in new mecha, vehicles, aliens, and factions for Robotech® RPG Tactics™ expansions. We have some ideas of our own, but we welcome input and suggestions from you, so start kicking around ideas and don’t hesitate to share them with us.

Please know that we are truly committed to fulfilling our Kickstarter obligations and to make Robotech® RPG Tactics™ truly epic, with future expansions across all eras of Robotech®.

We are putting things in place to have 2-3 new PDFs of Rifts® World Books and other titles every week. Yes, you read that correctly, 2-3 new PDF titles EVERY WEEK.

In addition to the four titles listed above, The Minion War™ series of books, the Rifts® Coalition Wars®/Tolkeen series, Chaos Earth® Resurrection, all of the Dead Reign® (Zombie Apocalypse) titles, Splicers® RPG and most issues of The Rifter® are available NOW! So are first edition rules of the Heroes Unlimited™ RPG and sourcebooks, Palladium Fantasy RPG® and sourcebooks, The Mechanoids®, and much more, available on DriveThruRPG.com.

Rifts® The Minion War™ series – six current books – consisting of Dimension Book 10: Hades, Dimension Book 11: Dyval, Dimension Book 12: Dimensional Outbreak, HU2 adventure sourcebook: Armageddon Unlimited™, Heroes of the Megaverse®, and Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames available now! Suitable for ALL settings, including Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™ and The Palladium Fantasy RPG®.

Dead Reign® RPG titles. The Zombie Apocalypse is yours to role-play with the Dead Reign® RPG. The core rule book and all sourcebooks are available now.

Palladium collectibles, hardcovers, out of print titles, original artwork and toys and items from my personal collection are all available on my ebay store. We add items on a regular basis and offer sales, so check it out from time to time. Includes one-of-a-kind original artwork, prints, Rifts® and Robotech® artwork by Kevin Long, me and others. There is also a range of limited editions, rare book titles and limited edition hardcovers, toys and more available with frequent new items added. Items include original art, out of print titles, redlined proofreader photocopies signed by me and the staff, signed manuscripts with editors’ corrections, some original art, hardcover books (including Rifts® Lemuria, Northern Gun™ One, Northern Gun™ Two, Megaverse® in Flames™, Beyond the Supernatural™ Gold, Rifts® Machinations of Doom™ Gold and Rifts® Ultimate Gold), hundreds of toys and action figures, all from my personal archives and collection. Take a look every weekend or two for new items added.

Game Masters Needed – Gen Con Indy – We need your game event submissions by this weekend, but keep them coming

Please keep those Gen Con game event descriptions coming in! Help us celebrate Palladium’s 35th Anniversary with even MORE Palladium gaming events at the 2016 Gen Con Indy than ever before.

Game Masters wanted. We are looking for Game Masters to showcase all of Palladium’s RPGs: Rifts®, Robotech®, Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy®, Nightbane®, Dead Reign®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Splicers®, After the Bomb®, Ninjas & Superspies™ and all the rest. Also looking for people to demo Robotech® RPG Tactics™ and we would love to see a Robotech® RPG Tactics™ tournament if any of you are willing to organize and run one.

Rewards for Game Masters (and players)! And just like the last two years, Palladium offers the Best Players, Game Masters and all gamers in each event rewards for their participation. Plus G.M.s who run several games in the Palladium block get a free Gen Con G.M. badge and we get to have all events in the same area, making it convenient for players and Game Masters. Palladium is always looking for NEW G.M.s to run events and join the Megaversal Ambassadors, so please consider helping out and having some fun at the same time by running Palladium events at Gen Con and other conventions around the world.

Game Masters, please contact Palladium Books and/or Gen Con Game events coordinators Jeff Ruiz (NMI) and Patrick “Jake” Jakubowski now through January 31, 2016. In order to get into the Gen Con Games Pre-Registration and the onsite program book, Gen Con needs ALL game information by Mid-February. That means it is ideal for Palladium’s event coordinators to have them by January 31, 2016, but we can still add events over the next week. Note: Game events submitted AFTER FEBRUARY 10, 2016 are not likely to get listed in the Gen Con Pre-Registration and onsite program book. If you want your games filled with people and to have one central location for all Palladium related events, we need to get them to the Palladium coordinators this weekend! And certainly no later than next weekend. Jeff and Jake are waiting for your game descriptions right now!

Send in your Gen Con game descriptions pronto to the Palladium Megaversal Ambassadors pronto at ambassadors{at}palladiumbooks.com — or by telephone (734-721-2903).

Gotta get back to work

Last week I talked about ideas flying and I wasn’t kidding. In addition to our current projects and moving Robotech® RPG Tactics™ forward, we made notes for two new game books. So I better get back to work on The Rifter® #73 and Heroes of Humanity™ so we can get to them. I hope our friends and fans on the East Coast have dug out of the snow and are getting back to things as normal. Don’t forget to place your order for a subscription to The Rifter® during the Super-Subscription Drive to get free gifts worth up to $35.85 in addition to the subscription savings! Smile, good things are happening.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, Game Designer

The Rifter® Super-Subscription Drive – Low Price – Free Gift

It only happens once a year – for a limited time – The Rifter® Super-Subscription Drive. We want people to discover The Rifter® as a valuable resource, so during the Super-Subscription Drive we offer a selection of FREE gifts as an additional enticement to subscribe. Gamers already familiar with The Rifter® always jump at this offer. That’s because even when late, The Rifter® has been so consistently good, it is hard to say no to the Super-Subscription Drive.

The free gift is always a nice incentive, unique and fun. I have dug through the Palladium archives to make a number of out of print titles and “special” items available. For us, gaming is all about friends and fun, so enjoy and have fun. Note: The early issues of The Rifter® are limited and available only while supplies last. Please keep the orders coming and enjoy.

Here are four reasons (and 7 gift choices) why this is the perfect time to try The Rifter® or renew your subscription:

Save $16 off retail and each issue is delivered right to your door.

FREE gift worth $17.90 to $35.85 when you order now! 7 gift choices.

Order during the Super-Subscription Drive to lock in your low, low subscription price for the next year.

The Rifter® has been outstanding and is the place to find regular source material for Beyond the Supernatural™, Palladium Fantasy®, Splicers®, Dead Reign®, Heroes Unlimited™ and other settings. And future issues will have more player and G.M. tips, and more “official” source material.

If you haven’t taken a look at The Rifter® lately (if ever), I suggest you try an issue.

The Rifter® is an excellent gaming resource. A place to find ideas as well as characters, monsters, villains, powers, magic and adventures for your own game. Characters, powers and equipment you can drop into most game settings with little or no modification. Even articles designed for settings you don’t play are likely to offer ideas and material you can easily modify and incorporate into your campaign. In fact, drawing on concepts from outside the usual setting can spice up your game and keep players guessing. The Rifter® is a great tool for that. The beauty of Palladium’s Megaversal Game System is you can often take characters, gear and ideas from one world setting and drop them into ANY of the other settings with no or little work. Other times, the amount of modification is minimal to make it work in a different setting. That means a monster from Palladium Fantasy® can be a creature, mutant or alien in Heroes Unlimited™, After the Bomb®,Robotech®, Rifts®, Nightbane®,The Mechanoids®, Chaos Earth® or Splicers®, and vice versa. What needs to be adjusted? Perhaps just changing Hit Points/S.D.C. and damage to Mega-Damage, or M.D.C. and M.D. to Hit Points/S.D.C., or some other minor tweaks.

Characters from Heroes Unlimited™ and After the Bomb® can be from the future, or the past (depending on the setting), or they can be mutants, or aliens, or beings from another or parallel world. As I am so wont to say, you are limited only by your imagination. The same holds true for towns, cities and adventures – use that place and the adventure ideas tailored to a different setting. Sure you may have to swap out monsters and treasure, or adjust motives, but you might be surprised how easy, fun and different that adventure plays out in a different world environment.

The Rifter® is the ultimate source for alternative, new and different ideas, rules, adventures, characters, and story ideas. All of which can be tweaked to fit most settings, as can optional rules. The Rifter® is a factory for alternative ideas.

Click here to see the full description for your subscription options and choice of free gift in the Palladium Online Store.

NEW! The Rifter® #73 – Ships Early February

The Rifter® #73 is in final production. Articles have been selected and most of it, if not all, is “official” source material! If that is the case (and I think it will be), it is the first time an entire issue of The Rifter® contains all “official” source material. A good way to kickoff Palladium’s 35 Year Anniversary. In final production and should go to the printer in a week or so.

Every issue of The Rifter® is an idea factory for players and Game Masters to generate new ideas and find new avenues of adventure. It provides useful, ready to go source material you can just drop into your ongoing games. A doorway to new possibilities and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. And the many new characters, O.C.C.s, powers, magic, weapons, villains, monsters, adventures and ideas for one setting can be easily adapted to any Palladium setting. Every issue has material for Rifts® and at least 2-3 other Palladium game lines. And don’t forget, most of the material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

Rifter® #73 Highlights:

Rifts® – Nexus Born, by Julius Rosenstein – “official” source material. Why is it that some children born at a ley line nexus are gifted? Find out, and find out exactly what these gifts are and how they can impact player characters and NPCs. New concepts, NPCs and adventure source material. Additional text and ideas by Kevin Siembieda.

Palladium Fantasy RPG® – Children of the Forest, by Kevin Siembieda – “official” source material. More insight about the Wolfen and Faerie Folk of the Great Northern Wilderness. Plus a new villain, new monstrous war steed, magic weapons and an adventure set in the Palladium Fantasy world that lets you use all of this data and new toys.

Splicers® – I am Legion, Part Two, by Charles Walton II, Chris Kluge and Lance Colley – “official” source material. The adventure continues as your heroes must deal with the plight of contending with the new Machine personality known as Legion. In this adventure, the player group is given instructions from the Warlord, himself, to learn more about this enemy, and if possible, use a special weapon to bring it down. But nothing ever works that easy. New War Mounts, O.C.C. upgrades, NPCs, and more, including the very first time a Splicer Warlord is ever statted out.

Dead Reign® – Detroit, by Thomas Morrison – “official” source material (tentatively official). The title kinda says it all. The city of Detroit and its suburbs in the Zombie Apocalypse. An adventure setting plus a couple of new zombie variants.

Palladium Fantasy RPG® – the Triumvirate Dragon by Glen Evans and Kevin Siembieda – “official” source material. For the first time, the iconic three-headed dragon that appeared on the original cover of the Palladium Fantasy RPG is described and statted out.

NEW! Rifts® The Coalition States: Heroes of Humanity™ – February

In final production. The events unfolding in World Book 35: Megaverse® in Flames threaten to change the entire landscape of Rifts® Earth, as the demonic minions of Hades and Dyval seek to bring Hell on Earth and turn the planet into a dimensional gateway to Armageddon!

The Coalition States, along with Northern Gun and Lazlo, take the lead in the defense of North America. Heroes of Humanity explores the good and bad in the Coalition’s efforts to save humanity and send this new threat back to the pits of Hell.

New Coalition weapons, armor and war machines.

The Coalition States: Are they heroes or villains? Or does it depend on whether you are human or not?

Can the CS fight alongside mages and D-Bees if it means saving the world?

How is the CS dealing with the Minion War on Earth, their battle plans, strategies and alliances.

One plan to battle the Xiticix and who really pays the price.

Setting background, world information and many adventure ideas.

Written by Kevin Siembieda, Matthew Clements and contributors.

Final page count and price yet to be determined but probably 96 pages – $16.95 retail, but it might go larger – Cat. No. 889. Ships end of February.

Rifts® Secrets of the Coalition States: The Disavowed™ – March

“Desperate times require desperate measures. War has nothing to do with morality or justice. It’s all about winning or dying. We cannot bind our hands with high ideals, even our own, or worry about the laws of renegade nations or the rights of alien people. We must fight fire with fire. And you are the match.” – Colonel Lyboc addressing a Disavowed team

The Disavowed are so Top Secret that their existence is known only to a handful of the Coalition States’ most elite, top echelon, with Joseph Prosek II the mastermind behind the Disavowed operation, and Colonel Lyboc its shadowy face. Find out who these men and women are. How the Disavowed get away with using magic, traveling to other parts of Rifts Earth and even to other dimensions in pursuit of enemies and strategic information that cannot be had through conventional means. Learn about the secret parameters in which these hard-boiled warriors, secretly hand-picked by Joseph Prosek II, operate, why almost every mission is considered a suicide mission, and why they must forever be the Disavowed.

CS operatives so secret that even the top military and political leaders right up to Emperor Prosek know nothing about them. And if they did know, would they condone their activity or condemn it?

Are the Disavowed heroes or renegades? Assassins or soldiers? Madmen or super-patriots? Or a little of them all?

Unsung heroes who keep the CS safe, or thugs and pawns of a shadow agency within the Coalition government?

What role does the Vanguard play in this group?

How do they reward their D-Bee “teammates” when the mission is over?

What happens to the Disavowed when they have seen or learned too much? Adventure ideas galore and so much more.

NEW! Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™ – Spring

True Atlanteans are descendants from Earth’s past. The survivors of the sinking of Atlantis (really a dimensional mishap) and travelers of the Megaverse, wielders of Tattoo Magic and other lost mystic arts. Most people regard them as heroes, but are they? The Sunaj Assassins are mythic villains feared by all, yet they too are True Atlanteans who serve dark forces.

For the first time, much of the story behind True Atlanteans and their secrets are revealed.

True Atlanteans revisited.

Optional Atlantean character creation tables including clan heritage and other factors.

Secrets of the stone pyramids, different types/purposes and powers.

Many new magic tattoos, magic spells, weapons and armor.

Atlantean hideouts and secret communities across the Megaverse.

The Sunaj Assassins, their secrets, history and plans for the future.

Atlantean Monster Hunter O.C.C., Atlantean Defender O.C.C. and much more. And this is just the tip of what this book contains.

Rifts® Haunted Tech™ – Spring or Summer

Faced with the imminent threat of the Minion War and ensuing demon plagues across Rifts® North America, heroes and nations rise! Archie Three is taking none of it lying down. The insane machine-god is obsessed with sending the demons back to hell and saving “his” world.

The Republicans reveal themselves and take action. Yes, that means Chaos Earth NEMA O.C.C.s, robots and technology in Rifts® Earth.

Archie Three takes action behind the scenes, in a big way.

New menaces appear.

Haunted Tech gives new meaning to “ghost in the machine.” But are they a godsend or a Pandora’s Box of new danger.

The new rules, powers and abilities for Haunted Tech will blow your mind.

Adventure ideas, plot hooks and more.

Written by Kevin Siembieda. Additional ideas from Charles Walton II.

Final page count, price and catalog number yet to be determined, but probably 96 pages – $16.95 retail. Spring or Summer release.

Garden of the Gods™ – a Palladium Fantasy RPG® Sourcebook – Spring

This has been a secret project of Kevin Siembieda’s that he has been plotting and writing in what little spare time he has. The Garden of the Gods is said to be a holy place watched over and even frequented by the avatars of the gods. According to legend, the god may visit heroes and followers in dreams or in person by an avatar of the god, to be given guidance, inspiration, heroic quests, and gifts of knowledge and magic. More details about this title will follow.

The Garden of the Gods described in detail.

Godly insight and visitations.

Gifts of magic and knowledge.

Sanctuary and more.

The Black Pit, a place of evil and dark secrets. Is it a counterbalance to the good of the Garden or a trick of the Old Ones?

Written by Kevin Siembieda.

Final page count, price and catalog number yet to be determined, but probably 96 pages – $16.95 retail. A Spring release.

Hell Followed™ – A Dead Reign® Zombie Apocalypse Sourcebook

At 160 pages, Hell Followed™ is the largest Dead Reign® sourcebook yet. Spring or Summer release. Can you survive the Zombie Apocalypse? Find out by playing Dead Reign®. The results may surprise you.

New O.C.C.s and skills.

New zombies and other menaces.

More world information, new dangers and new adventurers.

Written by Taylor White.

160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 236. Spring or Summer release.

Rifts® Chaos Earth® Sourcebook: First Responders – Summer

The Great Cataclysm has devastated civilization, but humanity fights for survival. The struggles of civilian law enforcement, fire and rescue, and everyday men and women are some of the most epic tales to be told in a world gone to hell. They fight monsters, aliens, the paranormal, the elements, and each other, all with the hope of reclaiming their lives from the Chaos.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Wave Two is coming ...

– but you can get started with the core box set and Wave One expansions right now

If you love Robotech®, you want to take a look at this game. Beautifully detailed game pieces of your favorite Robotech® mecha, and fast playing rules that capture the Robotech® experience in a new, exciting way. And this is just the beginning. We have so much more planned for the years ahead.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ "Starter Box" (Main Box Game) – Cat. No. 55100 – $99.95 retail price. This is the game Robotech® fans have wanted for decades. Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast-paced, tabletop combat game that captures the action and adventure of the Robotech® anime. Two or more players can engage in small squad skirmishes or scale up to massive battles. Relive the clashes of the First Robotech War, engage in stand-alone tactical games, or use the dynamic game pieces to enhance your Robotech® RPG experience. Or simply collect your favorite mecha from an expanding range of top-notch game pieces. Get yours now, so you can build your armies and have them ready when Wave Two is released.

The First Six Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Expansion Packs are available to retail along with the main box game. Here are the SKUs and retail prices:

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Rulebook – Cat. No. 55105 – $20.00 retail. Note: This is the same rulebook that is included in the main game box, and is offered separately for those who want an extra copy, or want to check out the rules before buying the whole game.

Palladium PDF Books – download from DriveThruRPG.com

This is a great resource for getting out of print Palladium titles and other select books. We’ve made more than 100 PDF products available for digital download from DriveThruRPG.com, as well as Fantasy Paper Miniatures, Game Master resources and other good things with more to come. This is a great way to try Palladium products and get access to out of print RPG source material. Some notable titles include: